Compliments & Kisses
by RupertsPheonix
Summary: Lily/James. Five parts. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Story Disclaimer: The HP Universe belongs solely to JKR; I just play with words. :) Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 1**

James Potter was undeniably the most infuriating prat on the planet. That stupid Quidditch Captain badge pinned on his robes had already irked me for an entire two terms with the inflated ego it'd given him. Needless to say, when he entered the Prefects' Compartment on September first of our seventh year and pointed cheekily to his second badge—the one that was engraved with bold lettering to say "Head Boy"—I thought I was going to vomit all over the Hogwarts Express floor.

"You are joking."

"I would never."

The playful quality in his response forced my green gaze to snap to his hazel eyes, hidden behind his glasses. He was grinning at me. Surely he wasn't going to test me, egg me on in front of the few prefects that had already arrived for the start of term meeting?

I narrowed my eyes. "Yes, well, I can't _imagine_ why I would think you were."

He ran a hand through his black and already infuriatingly messy hair and stepped towards me, stopping just a few centimeters from my face.

"As much as I hope you imagine me often, Evans, we should probably get organized for this meeting."

I felt the flame of embarrassment reach my cheeks, probably making my pale, freckled skin appear unattractively blotchy. He always said off-color things to me; another of his efforts to tease me. I ignored the pink tinge on my face and nodded, gesturing to the table at the front of the compartment, which had pieces of parchment already spread across it. He sidestepped me and made his way over to the table. I watched his eyes flicker over the notes I'd scrawled to myself in an attempt to create some semblance of a checklist of things to cover at the first meeting of the school term.

His arm reached out to grab at a piece of parchment, and I watched him pick it up, my eyes glued to the muscles that twitched in his forearm. His pressed, white uniform sleeve was rolled up to his elbow in what I guessed was supposed to be a devil-may-care fashion. The toerag was probably trying to get girls to notice his nicely defined arms.

And, okay, yeah, maybe it was working.

I supposed I should admit it to myself—not that I hadn't been admitting it to myself for several months now; I was really quite attracted to James Potter.

Yes, he was an insufferable idiot who liked to tease me to no avail, and maybe he pulled way too many pranks with his little group of comrades, and maybe he was often showy and arrogant, and he was _definitely_ a git to all of the Slytherins. But, honestly, the Slytherins in our year were really quite rude and even bordering on dangerous with their prejudiced mentalities and mean-spirited comments. And it wasn't like he didn't have numerous reasons to be proud of himself; he was an incredible athlete on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and he was rather smart and really quite fit. And while he and his friends pulled ridiculous stunts repeatedly, they were generally good-natured and all four of them were genuinely good blokes. And after a summer of not being teased mercilessly, I was sort of missing the attention.

Mother of Merlin, I was more attracted to him than I initially thought.

"Evans," he called, and his voice broke me from my internal monologue. "D'you just want to start this thing up, and I'll follow along?" His hand flew to his hair nervously. "I've, er, never been to one of these meetings before."

I nodded. "Yes, well, that's a disadvantage to having a Head Boy who has never been a prefect." Guilt coursed through me as I watched his face frown at my passive aggressive insult. "But, uh, don't worry," I said, trying to make up for my harshness. "It won't be too complicated to pick up on."

-/-/-

The prefects were clearing out of the compartment when James approached me. I looked up at him, as he was a good ten centimeters taller than me, and I raised an eyebrow as if to ask what he

needed.

"I just wanted to say thanks, Evans," he said, shoving a hand into his trouser pocket.

I furrowed my brow. "What for?"

He shrugged. "For not making this difficult on me. I thought you'd go barmy when you found out Dumbledore had given it to me," he said, and I knew he meant the position as Head Boy.

It was my turn to shrug. "Professor Dumbledore has liked you for a long time."

"But _you_ have never liked me," James replied with an air of honesty.

I could smell something radiating off of him in his close proximity to me. It smelled like leather and like the Hogwarts' grounds after a good rain; it made my head dizzy.

I shuffled the parchment on the tabletop. "It isn't that I don't like you. It's that you're a bit of a smarmy git."

He laughed, a deep rumbling sound that came barreling from his chest, and I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in a smile that I hadn't given my face permission to make. I watched as he took in my reaction and his face lit with a bright smile.

That smile was going to be the death of me.

When James Potter smiled, his face did this thing where it transformed from just roguishly handsome to utterly adorable. The wider his smile got, the more crooked it went, and he looked like a little boy that had just discovered magic for the first time. Every time that smile graced his face, I had to consciously make an effort not to sigh aloud.

"A bit of a smarmy git," he repeated, still grinning. "I'll take it. And you, as always, Evans, are just lovely."

"Oh." I had prepared myself for one of his usual back-handed compliments (like the time a year or so before that he had told me that I was probably the only girl that ever looked half-decent with freckles), and when he actually said something outwardly kind, I was shocked.

"Oh?"

"I mean, thank you."

It was James' turn to be incredulous. "Thank you?" he repeated, surprised.

"Isn't that what you're supposed to say when someone compliments you?"

He gaped like a fish out of water. "But you've never thanked me before!"

"And you've never complimented me before," I replied, sliding the pieces of parchment into my shoulder bag.

"I've been complimenting you since we were first years!"

"Potter, writing me a birthday poem about how _someone_ has to be the goody-two-shoes is _not_ a compliment."

He looked put out. "Well, I didn't know any better—we were really very young."

"That was last year."

He grinned at me and shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, well, what can I say?"

I inched toward him and replied, "You _could_ say it again."

"But, Evans, I don't remember all of the rhymes!"

I rolled my eyes. "Not the poem, you insufferable idiot. The compliment!"

He grinned that wonderfully crooked grin of his, and I was rather enjoying our friendly bantering. My breath caught in my chest when he leaned in to push a strand of unruly red hair that had popped out of my ponytail back behind my ear.

"You're really something, Lily Evans," he said earnestly, his hand lingering near my face for just a second more.

I blinked at him and tried to bring back the joking atmosphere. "You're something, too, Potter. I just haven't figured out what species yet."

James laughed again, and we were so close that I could practically feel his chest shake. I grinned, proud of my jest.

"Lily Evans," he said in a mock-serious tone, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me."

"Well thank Merlin you know better, Potter," I said, sidestepping him and making my way to the door of the compartment. "Wouldn't want you to get your wand in a knot."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The Welcome Feast was beginning. My dormmates—Mary MacDonald and Dorcas Meadowes—and I sat with the other Gryffindor seventh years at the front of the house table, as was tradition. Gryffindor, for the past several years, had put the seventh years up front at the Welcome Feast to welcome the newly sorted first years into the house. Of course, this year, that meant that Mary, Dorcas, and I were sitting with James Potter and his three comrades: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.

Normally, I would've been irritated with the proximity to James, but as it was, I was really only irritated with the realization that I was going slightly bonkers in my attraction to James.

My lovely mates, Mary and Dorcas, had decided to sit me right next to—who else?—Potter himself. I don't think that it was truly a plot to get me stuck beside James, but rather to get Mary placed next to Sirius. She had this fascination with the rebel image he exuded with his long, shaggy black hair and his leather, muggle-styled jacket and the flying motorbike he had apparently bought a few summers previously.

When Professor Dumbledore stood and announced that the sorting was going to begin, we all swiveled around to watch Professor McGonagall leading in several eleven-year old students. She placed the Sorting Hat on the stool and began calling out names. I wistfully remembered my own sorting.

_ "Lily Evans!" McGonagall called. I nervously stepped forward and placed the hat atop my head. The brim fell over my eyes._

_ "Well, you're a sharp one, aren't you?" I heard the Hat say in it's sly and curious voice. "With this wit, we could place you easily in Ravenclaw..."_

_ I silently begged to go to Slytherin, which Severus Snape, my neighborhood friend, had told me was the best house at Hogwarts._

_ "No, no... Slytherin won't do. Hufflepuff won't do, either. With a heart like this, you belong in... GRYFFINDOR!"_

I shook myself out of my reverie just in time to cheer wildly with the other seventh years for the first student to be placed in Gryffindor. James, who sat directly beside me turned to grin at me madly. He turned back in time to clap the young boy on the shoulder.

"Welcome to the best house at Hogwarts, you little bugger!"

"The Most Noble House of Godric!" Sirius yelled triumphantly. "Go, go, Gryffindor!"

I smiled brightly at the boy, who looked pleased at the Sorting Hat's choice. He continued walking down to an open seat, and we turned back to the next student to be sorted.

-/-/-

On the first day of classes, as per usual, McGonagall passed out our class schedules. I groaned as I realized that NEWT level classes meant plenty of double sessions.

"Yeah, looks like hell," Dorcas commented, looking irritated with her own timetable. "We've got double _everything_!"

The four boys in our year came sauntering into the Great Hall. I watched as Sirius plopped himself down between my roommates, and I grinned at Remus, who sat down to my left. James slid into the open seat at my right, with Peter sitting across from him.

"What do our Gryffindor lionesses look so upset about this morning?" Peter asked, scooping up some breakfast potatoes and putting them on his plate.

"Timetables," I groaned. "They're miserable."

Just then, McGonagall appeared and handed the boys their schedules. "Do not be late to Transfiguration, Mr. Black," she said warningly. "You need not start this term off poorly."

He gave her a winning smile. "Of course, Professor. I'll be there with bells on!"

She gave him a wry look and began to make her way to a cluster of other Gryffindor students that had just approached the table.

Potter looked at his schedule and groaned. "Double Potions! Double Herbology! Double everything!"

"That's what _I_ said," Dorcas pouted over her pumpkin juice. "This term is going to be terrible."

Remus sighed beside me. "Maybe not terrible, but it's going to take a lot more work."

"I hate work," Sirius sighed dramatically.

We all snickered and went back to our breakfasts. We ate in polite conversation for a while before James cleared his throat beside me.

"Evans," he said, running a hand through his hair as always. "Did you do something different with your hair today?"

I blushed. I had, actually. I usually wore my hair in a ponytail or a plait, but I had left it down and in its natural state of messy curls in my haste to be early to get my timetable this morning. "Um, yes."

He met my eyes and grinned when he replied, "It looks very nice."

"Thank you," I said, feeling strange. James really was getting much better at this complimenting business, and he was clearly trying to win me over with it. I wished it wasn't working so bloody well.

I made to go on with my breakfast, but I looked over the table and realized that all of our fellow Gryffindor classmates were watching us with varying expressions of confusion, amazement, and delight. I rolled my eyes and set down my fork.

"Let's just go to Transfiguration," I said, standing and feeling uncomfortable with their watchful gazes.

James jumped up. "Right you are, Evans. Lead the way."

-/-/-

When we finally got to Transfiguration, I sat in my usual seat in the front, followed by Dorcas and Mary. The boys took their usual seats in the back of the room. When we settled down, Mary leaned over and whispered, "What the bloody hell was _that_?"

I sighed. "What are you on about, Mary?"

She looked exasperated, and Dorcas leaned in to say, "James complimented you like a normal human being and then you said 'thank you' and didn't threaten to cut his bullocks off!"

I glared at them and pulled out my textbook. "You are _supposed_ to say thank you when a person compliments you. I don't see what the big deal is."

Mary's jaw fell open.

Dorcas squealed and whispered—not so quietly, in my opinion, "Oh, my gillyweed, Lily, you like James!"

I rounded on her, feeling my eyes getting big. "Will you hush up your fat mouth, for Merlin's sake? And of course I don't! He's... He's... Well, he's Potter," I finished lamely and as though that solved anything.

I sat through the entire lesson of double Transfiguration with the two of them grinning wide, knowing smirks.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

After the long first day of classes, James and I still had to do prefect rounds, checking the castle for wandering students. James was walking alongside me, swinging his arms comically beside himself, when he reached up and began to loosen his scarlet and gold tie. He must've felt my eyes on him because he looked up and grinned.

"This castle's bloody hot."

I nodded, trying not to be so stupefied by the simple act of him pulling at his tie. "Right, yes, very hot."

I was an idiot, a blubbering fool, all from one small motion that was him loosening his tie. How utterly ridiculous of me.

Potter didn't seem to notice my odd behavior. He continued pulling at his tie until it hug very loosely around his neck and then began rolling up his sleeves. He cleared his throat as he did and said, nonchalantly, "I hope you enjoyed that compliment at breakfast, Evans, because I've been given hell for it all day."

My eyes snapped from his forearms to his hazel gaze. "What?"

"That one about your hair—"

I shook my head. "I know that, you dolt. Who's given you a hard time?"

He let out an exaggerated sigh. "The blokes. They won't stop taking the mickey." He adopted a very prissy, girlish voice and said, "'Oi, Evans, your hair is so shiny! Oh, Lily, your hair is just fabulous!'" He looked at me exasperatedly and dropped back to his usual tone. "I told them to sod off, but they won't shut up for anything. It's given them ammunition for the rest of term, I'm afraid."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "Our whole house is made up of toads. Mary and Dorcas have been nagging me, too."

He looked interested. "They have?"

I nodded miserably. "They keep asking why I didn't hex you into oblivion, and I keep telling them that I only dislike you when you're being a prat, and you _weren't_ being a prat!"

He looked rather proud of himself and ran a hand through his hair. "That's right—I was just being a nice fellow."

"I don't know if I'd say _that_," I said, laughing when he gave me an outrageous expression.

"You have the prettiest laugh," said James, and then we both froze. My laughter stopped in my throat, and he looked like he was afraid he'd let a terrible secret slip.

"No, I don't," I said, to break the silence.

He looked at me as though I'd grown another head. "Are you barmy?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Come off it, Potter. I sound like a chicken giving birth to a cat."

James let out a loud burst of laughter. "How do you even know what that sounds like?"

I gave him a playful shove to the shoulder. "It's a figure of speech."

"No, it isn't," he insisted. "I have never heard that. And you don't sound like... well, like that."

"Sure."

James stopped walking, and I turned around to look back at him, an exasperated hand on my hip.

"Seriously, Evans, if I could just hear you laugh once every day for the rest of my life, I'd be the happiest bloke alive."

If I had read that in a novel, or maybe Dorcas or Mary or even my sister Petunia had told me that a fellow said that to them, I would have probably snickered and thought it cheesy or ridiculous. As it was, when James said it to me, I was left slightly breathless. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water for a minute.

"That... That was... very sweet, Potter," I said, and I wasn't quite sure what to do with my hands when I said it. I felt really very awkward.

"It was?" he asked, looking proud of himself again.

I laughed and rolled my eyes and replied begrudgingly, "Yeah. But don't go getting a big ego about it."

I watched him laugh in reply and step towards me. Together, we continued down the corridor, searching for students out of bed in broom closets and empty classrooms.

-/-/-

For the next several breakfasts, James and his friends sat with us, and Mary seemed thankful to have a reason to sit near and flirt with Sirius. One morning, the first Saturday we'd spent at the castle, we were all sitting around eating pancakes when Sirius looked from James to me and then said, in a clear effort to make both his best mate and me feel awkward, "Evans, I've noticed that you've been wearing your hair down quite a bit this week."

I tried to ignore my blush and shifted my gaze to James when I replied, "Yeah, I was recently told that it looks nice this way."

James grinned that perfect, crooked smile, looking rather pleased with himself, and I avoided eye contact with anyone else and looked back to my plate. I could feel my face burning from my admission.

-/-/-

I could hear James and his friends talking in the library. It was Sunday night, and they were gathered around a round table in the back, and I was standing in the Restricted Section. I really hadn't come here to spy—rather to find a book to help with my Potions essay—but then I overheard Sirius say my name.

"Lily Evans will never go out with you, mate," Sirius was saying.

I couldn't see James' face, as he was sitting with his back to me, but I could see Remus' expression form into one of disbelief.

"Are you joking?" he said. "Prongs, don't listen to him. Lily has been responding very well to all of your compliments and jokes. I think she's well beyond any dislike she once felt toward you."

"You think?" James asked. "I hope so. I just don't see myself dating any other girl while she's around. I mean, thanks, mates, for trying to set me up with Ginger, but I just don't think she's the ginger I want, you know?"

Remus grinned at the joke, and I almost laughed aloud with relief, but I felt my spirits sink when I saw Peter's look of frustration.

"James, Ginger is a perfectly nice girl with a really nice bum, and she wants to go out with you," he said.

Sirius gave Peter a slap on the back. "It's no use, Pete. He's not going to think about another girl until Evans marries someone else."

I watched James slump in his chair. "I just can't give up on her. I tried that this summer, remember, and that didn't go too well."

My eyes widened. So James had gone out over the summer with some girls? I took a deep breath, trying to remain quiet.

Remus patted James on the back. "I think it's best that way. I'm sure she's coming around."

"How long do I have to go with biting my tongue though? I can't help it—every time I see her I just have the urge to ask her out or say something stupid," James said miserably.

Unfortunately, I failed to hear what Remus' advice was because I felt a pair of eyes watching me. I looked to Potter's left to see Sirius, staring through the bookcases. _Shit_.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"Why don't you go to the common room, Prongs? Play a game of exploding snap and get your mind off of her," Sirius said, not taking his eyes off of me. "And I'll catch up in a few."

Remus gave Sirius a questioning look and the dark haired boy turned to him, made a pointed expression, and turned back to stare at me with narrowing eyes as Remus, Peter, and James gathered their things.

I waited for them to leave and then sank to the floor. A few moments later, Sirius was standing in front of me, arms folded across his chest.

"Evans, care to explain?"

I looked up to him with a guilty expression on my face. "Um, no?"

"Tough break—you have to."

I played with a strand of my messy, curly hair. "Well, I came in here to get a book on potions when I heard you say my name. When I realized that it was Potter, I just sort of... froze."

He looked at me suspiciously, and then plopped himself on the ground, leaning against the bookshelf opposite me. He looked at me for a few moments more before he said, "Why do you do this to him?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean. Why do you let him chase after you and then reject him and make him miserable? He could be happy with someone else."

I gritted my teeth. If I told the truth, I'd be subjected to endless ridicule from Black and James would definitely find out. But if I lied, then I would seem heartless and James could even end up finding someone else to date, which, I was beginning to realize, I definitely did not want to happen. I sighed.

"Look, Black," I said, wishing I didn't have to say this, "Not that it's any of your business, but I don't actually know that I _want_ Potter to be with someone else." I watched his surprised expression but held up a finger to let him know that I had more to say. "Don't you go telling him that I said that, either. I don't know what's going through my mind—I haven't even said anything to Dorcas or Mary, so please keep this to yourself... It's just that sometimes he is so... funny and sweet, and sometimes I'm just staring at him because he's unbelievably fit and—"

"Evans," Sirius said, sounding disgusted, and I felt myself blush with embarrassment.

"Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to," I muttered. "So sometimes he's... all of that, and then sometimes he's insufferable, and I remember how much he irritated the living hell out of me in the past, and I just don't know what I want yet."

Sirius sighed. "You know that he's known what _he_ wants for years, right?"

I nodded guiltily.

"For some reason, Evans, James is head over feet for you, and it's not just because you have nice knockers—believe me, I've asked," he said, and I blushed again. "He _really_ likes you, and I don't want to be the one that tells him you've got no interest."

"I do have interest," I said immediately.

He smirked. "Yeah, I know. It's written all over your face. Just, Merlin, Lily, figure out if you're going to act on it. You're driving him insane."

"Just give me a few more weeks."

"Fine. C'mon, let's go to the common room."

-/-/-

During prefect rounds one night, James asked me what I wanted to do after Hogwarts.

"Maybe work at the Ministry? I don't know, I'd like to do something with magical artifacts, I think," I answered. "What about you?"

James shrugged. "I've always thought I'd do something with Quidditch—maybe not play full time, but work for a team or do something in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. But now that there's so much going on and there are Death Eaters to think about, I feel like an idiot for wanting to play games for the rest of my life."

I was surprised at the maturity of that statement. I was also surprised at my own response.

"It's not idiotic to want to do something that makes you happy."

He sighed. "It's not important though. There are important things to do, like fight off whatever this Voldemort guy is starting up. Maybe be an Auror or a Hit Wizard or something."

I picked at my fingernails. "That's really dangerous, James."

He looked at me in shock. "Did you just call me James?"

"Isn't that your name?"

He stared at me for a moment and a grin spread across his face. "Does that mean I can call you Lily?"

I nodded and laughed when he looked utterly giddy. Here we were, having a completely serious conversation where I'm about to confess that I'd worry about him if he took on a dangerous job and he completely misses it, excited that he can call me by my first name. I roll my eyes and give him a shove as we check the next empty classroom.

-/-/-

Dinner in the Great Hall on a Friday evening was always one of two things: either really excited for a Hogsmeade weekend or a Quidditch match or really empty because everyone was tired from a long week. The final week of September, it was practically booming with excitement. The first Quidditch match of the term was tomorrow, and the whole school was squirming with excitement.

"You lot are going to win, right? I've got a bet going against Ludo Bagman, that fourth year fanatic from Hufflepuff," Sirius said, taking a bite into his Shepard's pie.

"Of course they're going to win," I said, rolling my eyes at Black's antics. Then I turned to James. "You are, aren't you?"

He shook his head with disbelief. "The lack of faith is unbelievable. Of course we're going to win!"

"Here, here," Peter said, swishing his goblet of pumpkin juice around and taking a swig.

Dorcas nodded. "If we don't win, then I'll kill James for making us practice four times a week for the past month."

James swallowed nervously. "We'll win."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

The morning before the game, I was sitting in the common room with Mary as we painted our nails Gryffindor scarlet and tied scarlet and gold ribbons in our hair. Sirius and Remus ran over to me and asked me to talk to James before the team left to change.

"He's doubting himself as captain, and you're the only one we can think of to cheer the poor bastard up," Sirius said.

"Pete says he's been mumbling about being a crap captain for two hours in the Great Hall," Remus added, looking at me desperately.

I nodded and made my way to the Great Hall, blowing on my fingernails as I went. Before I arrived, I thought of something brilliant. I quickly charmed my scarlet Gryffindor sweatshirt to say "Go Potter" across the chest. I smiled to myself; this wouldn't be so hard.

When I arrived at the Gryffindor table, James' nerves were almost tangible. He barely looked at me when I sat down beside him.

"Hey, Captain," I said, trying to sound positive. "How're you feeling?"

"Like we're going to lose."

I set my fingers down in front of him. "Do you see these nails?" He looked unamused, but nodded anyway. "These are Gryffindor scarlet. And do you see these hairbows? I was wearing these when you won the Cup last year. You're going to win, James. You always do. Besides, I'm wearing my lucky hairbows."

He didn't look sold. I decided to try my recently addled sweatshirt.

"James, look at my chest," I said. His eyes got wide, and I laughed. "At my _sweatshirt_, you idiot!"

I watched him read, then watched as the corners of his mouth lifted lightly. "Are you going to wear that throughout the match?"

"Yes." I grabbed his face and forced him to look me in the eyes. "I _know_ you can win this game, James. I believe in you, and so does all of Gryffindor. You've worked too hard to throw it all away before you hit the pitch."

He looked thoughtful for a minute and glanced down at my sweatshirt again.

"Hey, Lily? Will you wear that even if we lose?"

I grinned. "Every Saturday for the rest of the term. Pinky promise."

-/-/-

As the match raged on, I sat with Mary, Remus, and Sirius as we watched the Gryffindor team practically fly circles around the Hufflepuff players. Sirius had raised his eyebrows at my sweatshirt, but I told him to sod off if he wanted Gryffindor to win.

"POTTER DODGES LEFT, SHOOTS RIGHT, AND HE SCORES! TEN MORE FOR GRFFYINDOR, GIVING THEM A FIFTY POINT LEAD ON HUFFLEPUFF!"

We cheered wildly, and I saw James look over at us and grin madly. He was playing really well; four of the six goals for Gryffindor had come straight from him. Dorcas had scored one of the others, and she had passed the Quaffle several times to James to assist in his scores.

"AND PETTIGREW KNOCKS A BLUDGER TO HUFFLEPUFF'S MITCHELL, WHO DROPS THE QUAFFLE! MEADOWES CATCHES IT AND SHE SCORES! SEVENTY TO TEN, GRYFFINDOR'S IN THE LEAD!"

We continued cheering, even as drops of rain began falling. Hestia Jones and Marlene McKinnon, two sixth years sitting a row above us had painted a big paper sign bearing the crest of our house, but when the rain began pouring, all that remained were big yellow and scarlet swirls.

"IT LOOKS LIKE GRYFFINDOR'S SEEKER, JONES, HAS SEEN THE SNITCH! HE'S OFF, TAKING A DIVE AND HUFFLEPUFF'S LENNON ISN'T FAR BEHIND! JONES SWERVES TO THE RIGHT, AND HE'S GOT IT! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

I hopped up and hugged Sirius and Remus enthusiastically. I turned and cheered with Mary: "Go, go Gryffindor! Go, go!"

"Lily!" Sirius shouted over the crowd. He pointed down to the field, and I saw James, grinning and exchanging hugs with the team. I turned back to Sirius and smiled and nodded. We were up, fighting our way through the crowd in a millisecond. Mary and Remus weren't far behind.

I was the first of the four of us to make it to the pitch. I saw a crowd of gold and scarlet clad students and fought my way to the center to find James. He was standing with Jones, smacking his back and grinning happily. I ran up to him and pulled on his arm.

"Lily!" he beamed when he looked down.

"You were amazing!" I shouted, trying to be heard over the crowd.

"Listen, thanks for what you said earlier, it—"

But I reached up and, in one fluid motion, wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled his face to mine. I captured his lips with my own and heard his gasp of surprise. And then suddenly, his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me close to him and his tongue was begging entry into my mouth. I obliged almost instantly. Merlin, his mouth felt good.

I heard a loud whoop from beside us, and, without removing myself from James, I flipped Sirius my middle finger. I could hear his bark-like laugh and felt James smile into my mouth. We pulled apart, and he rested his forehead on mine as he caught his breath.

"So does this mean you're my girlfriend?"

I nodded.

He smiled that crooked grin of his, looking happy as a fool. _My fool_, I thought.

"Oi! You lot!" he yelled, pulling away from me. "Watch this!"

Several of the Quidditch players, all of his mates, Dorcas and Mary, and a handful of other Gryffindors turned at his shout. I caught Sirius' eye, and he winked at me, then turned his attention back to James.

"Lily Evans," he asked, loud enough for everyone to hear him, "Will you go out with me?"

"No," I said, then took in his surprised face, and turned to everyone else, shrugging and said, "Whoops! I mean, yes! It's a hard habit to break!" I kissed him and heard everyone laugh. When I pulled away, I whispered, "Yes, James Potter, I thought you'd never ask."

James laughed heartily, and I smelled his leather and wet grass scent and kissed him again. I brushed my hand up his forearm and felt the muscles that had first called to me on the Hogwarts Express this year. I grinned into the kiss. He was mine.

**_Fin._**


End file.
